Japanese Patent Kokai Publication No. JP-P2001-168901A discloses a method for generating a cyber community using a mailing list. With the viewpoint of the following two, that is, (1) the content of a message during communication is important but the recording of communication is not important and (2) the transmission of unsolicited mail and spam to the members registered in the mailing list should be suppressed, the community generation method described in the document proposes a communication method. This communication method sends an invitation mail to the member candidates each time a community is generated to ask them whether to join the community, and to the members who refuse to join the community, does not send unnecessary mail.
Japanese Patent Kokai Publication No. JP-P2005-157991A introduces a mobile phone in which a schedule book application having the mail send/receive function is installed.
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent Kokai Publication No. JP-P2001-168901A
[Patent Document 2]
Japanese Patent Kokai Publication No. JP-P2005-157991A
However, when a user is a member candidate for multiple communities, the method disclosed in Patent Document 1, in which a user is asked whether to join each time a community is generated, increases the burden on the user side. Basically, the community generation method disclosed in Patent Document 1 uses the above procedure to suppress the transmission of unsolicited mail or spam. Therefore, if some other countermeasures against unsolicited mail and spam are available, a non-strict (or loose) method that allows the user to remain belonging to a once-joined community is more convenient if the user and the cyber community have some trust each other.
However, even the above-described method that allows the user to remain belonging to a cyber community requires the user to access a cyber community each time the user wants to check for new messages. The problem is that the operation to check for messages is cumbersome on the restricted display screen or operation means of a portable communication terminal that is not so easy to operate.
Especially, when the user joins multiple cyber communities, the user must circulating visit those multiple cyber communities. Even if automatic site circulating visit software is available, the software is required to always be active to instantly confirm the content of new messages from multiple communities. This requirement prevents the standby screen, on which a layout of time-of-day, calendar, or a favorite picture is displayed, from being used.